House Bill 2009 Establishes Oregon Health Authority Board and Oregon Health Authority

75th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY–2009 Regular Session House Bill 2009

Establishes Oregon Health Authority Board and Oregon Health Authority and specifies duties, functions and powers. Transfers health and health insurance functions to authority from Department of Human Services and Department of Consumer and Business Services.
Creates Quality Care Institute and Oregon Health Insurance Exchange in Oregon Health Authority.
Requires authority to implement premium assistance program. Requires authority to streamline application process for medical assistance and premium assistance programs. Requires authority to increase reimbursement rates for health services providers participating in medical assistance programs.
Requires authority to conduct outreach for and marketing of medical assistance and premium assistance programs.
Creates tax on health insurance and managed care plans. Sets fixed rate for hospital assessment and removes sunset. Creates new cigarette tax. Establishes Oregon Health Authority Fund. Deposits moneys from taxes and assessments into fund. Continuously appropriates moneys in fund to authority for purpose of carrying out functions of authority.

(Duties of Oregon Health Authority Board)
SECTION 10. (1) The duties of the Oregon Health Authority Board are to:
(a) Be the policy-making and oversight body for the Oregon Health Authority established in section 11 of this 2009 Act and all of the authority¢s departmental divisions, including the Quality Care Institute and the Oregon Health Insurance Exchange described in sections 17 and 18 of this 2009 Act.
(b) Implement a program to provide health insurance premium assistance to all low and moderate income families residing in Oregon.
(c) Establish health benefit plans for individuals who are covered under the Public Employees Benefit Board and the Oregon Educators Benefit Board that will achieve optimal coordination among state agencies that provide health care benefits.
(d) Establish and continuously refine uniform, statewide health care quality standard for use by all purchasers of health care, third party payers and health care providers as quality performance benchmarks.
(e) Establish clinical standards and guidelines described in section 18 (3)(f)(B) of this 2009
Act.
(f) Approve and monitor community-centered health initiatives described in section 11 of this 2009 Act that are consistent with public health goals, strategies, programs and performance standards adopted by the board to improve the health of all Oregonians and shall regularly report to the Legislative Assembly on the accomplishments and needed changes to the initiatives.
(g) Establish cost control mechanisms to limit increases in health care costs in this state to an amount no greater than the U.S. City Average Consumer Price Index for medical care as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor minus one percent, by the year 2015.
(h) Work with the Oregon congressional delegation to advance the adoption of or changes in federal policy to promote Orego’ns comprehensive health reform plan.
(i) Establish an essential benefit package for all insurance offered through the Oregon Health Insurance Exchange.